안녕하세요? In this lesson, you'll learn how to express your will, intention, or promise to do something in Korean. The rule itself is not that difficult, but there are similar rules. So I'll show you the comparisons as well!
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1. (으)ㄹ게요 Grammar
Meaning
(으)ㄹ 게요 is the ending that expresses a will, intention, or promise for the future. It is often used when you volunteer yourself as well. You can translate it as "will".
내일은 일찍 올게요. I'll come early tomorrow.
↳ You can make a promise with this ending.
저는 김치찌개를 먹을게요. I'll eat kimchi jjigae.
↳ You can also show the determination or intention.
제가 대신 갈게요. I'll go instead.
↳ You can volunteer yourself for others.
Since it shows what you'll "do" in the future, you can attach it only to a verb stem. That means you can't use it with an adjective.
제가 갈게요. I'll go.
(X) 예쁠게요. I'll be pretty. - Wrong!
Statement
As a statement, it indicates the speaker's intention. You can't use it as a question, command, or suggestion. Also, you can't talk about other people with this ending!
제가 읽을게요. I'll read it.
(X) 당신이 읽을게요. - This ending can't be attached to "you."
(X) 민수씨가 읽을게요. - You can't use the third person either.
Does it make sense? You can't volunteer others to do something!
Pronouns
You can use this ending with only the first-person pronouns in a singular or plural.
Polite | Non-polite | |
Singular | 저 | 나 |
Plural | 저희 | 우리 |
제가 도울게요. I'll help you.
The example says 제가 not 저가. When 저 or 나 is attached to a subject marker, the form will be changed. If you are not familiar with this concept, please click here to read my subject marker lesson.
2. Conjugation Rules
Regular Rules
As a rule is written as (으)ㄹ게요, which means it has two forms. 을게요 and ㄹ게요. The stem's final consonant(받침) will decide which one to use!
받침 | (으)ㄹ게요 | Examples |
O | 을게요. | 읽다 → 읽을게요. |
X | ㄹ게요. | 보다 → 볼게요. |
ㄹ | 게요. | 만들다 → 만들게요. |
Here are more examples!
받침 O | 을게요. | 받침 X | ㄹ게요. | ㄹ 받침 | 게요. |
먹다 eat | 먹을게요 | 가다 go | 갈게요 | 풀다 solve | 풀게요 |
앉다 sit | 앉을게요 | 쓰다 write | 쓸게요 | 만들다 make | 만들게요 |
찾다 find | 찾을게요 | 말하다 speak | 말할게요 | 열다 open | 열게요 |
Irregular Rules
For some special final consonants, we have to use the special rules! Since you can attach (으)ㄹ게요 grammar only to the verbs, let's see the irregular verb rules!
받침 | (으)ㄹ게요 | Examples |
ㄷ | Change ㄷ to ㄹ+ 을게요. | 듣다 → 들을게요. |
ㅅ | Drop ㅅ+을게요. | 짓다 → 지을게요. |
ㅂ | Drop ㅂ+울게요. | 돕다 → 도울게요. |
Watch out for the irregular ㅂ words! You need to add a special form 울게요 not 을게요 like others! Here are more examples.
ㄷ 받침 | ㅅ 받침 | ㅂ 받침 | |||
묻다 ask | 물을게요. | 잇다 connect | 이을게요 | 굽다 bake | 구울게요 |
걷다 walk | 걸을게요. | 붓다 pour | 부을게요 | 줍다 pick up | 주울게요 |
All words that end with ㄹ follow the same rule. So, it is considered a regular rule. But the irregular rules you just saw are different. Some words follow regular rules even though they have these final consonants. If you want to learn these special words, please click the links below to find out!
4. Sentence Information
Here, let's learn more about the (으)ㄹ게요 grammar. I'll talk about the important expressions and comparisons with similar grammar. So, don't skip here! Please read carefully!
Volunteer
As it has a vibe of volunteering yourself to do something, you can't use it in a situation that doesn't benefit others.
(O) 제가 처리할게요. I'll take care of it.
(X) 제가 안 처리 할게요. I won't take care of it. -It sounds awkward.
Expressions
Since 을게요 is related to volunteering yourself, it is often used with the expression "아/어/여 주다" This grammatical expression means "to offer help." By adding 주다 with (으)ㄹ게요, you can make an offering help sentence.
아/어/여 줄게요. I'll do V for you.
제가 찾아 줄게요. I'll find it for you.
주다 has a honirific version of word; 드리다. So, "아/어/여 드리다" is a more polite sentence! When you offer your help to a way older people, please use this version.
아/어/여 드릴게요 (politer) I'll do V for you.
제가 도와 드릴게요. I'll help you. (Let me help you.)
을게요 ends with 요. That means it is an informal polite ending. When you take 요 out and say 을게, that is the informal casual ending. It is very friendly and not polite at all. You can use 을게 only for a person who is younger or the same age.
제가 갈게요. (polite) I'll go.
내가 갈게. (not polite) I'll go.
을게요 is used in the conversations (=informal). It doesn't have a formal form. In the formal ending, you can say show determination and will with "겠습니다."
제가 가겠습니다. (formal) I'll go.
Comparison1: 을게요 vs. 을래요
There is another intention ending, (으)ㄹ래요. Both 을래요 and 을게요 can mean the intention of the speaker but then how can they be different? Let's take a look!
(으)ㄹ게요 | (으)ㄹ래요 |
It expresses the speaker's will, but it has a tone of making a promise. So, the focus is on the listener. | It expresses the speaker's will, but this one is close to making a plan. So, the focus is on the speaker. |
내일 제가 갈게요. I'll go tomorrow. (I promise to you.) | 내일 제가 갈래요. I'll go tomorrow. (I want to go.) |
Since the focus in on the listener, you must avoid using any actions that could harm them. | Since the focus is on the speaker, it can be used even if it is disadvantageous to the listener. |
(X) 안 도와 줄게요. | 안 도와 줄래요. I won't help you. |
It can be used only as a statement to express the speaker's will. No question! | It can be used in questions to ask the listener's intention. |
(X) 뭐 먹을게요? | 뭐 먹을래요? What would you like to eat? |
Since it expresses a promise, it can be used as a response to the other person's order or request. | You can't use it to answer a request or order. |
Q: 사진을 찍지 마세요. Don't take a picture here. A: 네, 안 찍을게요. Ok, I won't. | Q: 사진을 찍지 마세요. Don't take a picture here. A: (X) 네, 안 찍을래요. |
Comparison 2: 을게요 vs. 을 거예요
You learned about 을 거예요 before. It is a future-tense ending and also can show the guess. Both 을게요 and 을 거예요 can be translated into "will" in English. If you are curious about how they are different, please read the chart below!
(으)ㄹ게요 | (으)ㄹ 거예요 |
What you are saying with this ending is closely related to a listener. | This ending is not related to a listener. You are just saying what you decided to do. |
내일 제가 갈게요. I'll go tomorrow. (I promise to you.) | 내일 제가 갈 거예요. I'll go. |
It shows the speaker's promise or will. So, only first-person can be used. | It can show more than the first person. In this case, it can show the guess about other's behavior. |
제가 처리 할게요.I'll take care of it. (X) 수지 씨가 처리 할게요. | 제가 처리 할 거예요. 수지 씨가 처리 할 거예요. Suji will take care of it. |
5. Examples
Let's ask the listener's intention and express your intention as well!
1
오늘 저녁은 제가 살게요! I'll pay for the dinner today.
With 을게요 grammar, you can promise to do something. It is attached to 사다 which means "to buy".
2
Your boss asks a team that someone needs to go on a business trip tomorrow.
제가 갈게요. I'll go.
=제가 다녀올게요. I'll go (and come back).
You can volunteer yourself to do something with this ending as well. 갈게요 came from 가다(to go). 다녀올게요 came from 다녀오다. It means to go and come back. Since you'll go back to work after the trip, you can say 다녀올게요 instead of 갈게요.
3
Your boss is cleaning a table after a meeting.
부장님! 제가 치울게요! Sir, I will clean up! (Let me clean up!)
The most unique purpose of (으)ㄹ게요 is to volunteer to work for others. In Korea, it is expected that younger people or lower-ranked people clean up. 부장님 is the head of a department. It is a title, but you are supposed to call them with the titles in Korea.
4
You saw an old lady carrying heavy luggage.
제가 들어 드릴게요. I'll carry it for you. (Let me carry it for you.)
By adding the expressions "아/어/여 드리다" and "을게요" we can make a more polite expression to offer help!
5
(카페에서 In the cafe)
Q: 뭐 마실래요? What would you like to drink?
A: 저는 커피를 마실게요. I'll drink coffee.
You can show determination or will with 을게요 as well. By attaching it to 마시다 (to drink), you can show what you want to drink. In this case, you can use another intention ending 을래요 instead. = 저는 커피를 마실래요.
We can use this "V(으)ㄹ래요" expression to suggest doing something together. "N에 가요 is an expression to say "go N."
To agree, you can say an expression, "좋아요." It came from 좋다, meaning to be good. So, you are saying "Good," or "Sounds good."
6. Wrap-up & Worksheet: 을게요 Grammar
How was your lesson today? Let's review the important parts with the summary.
(으)ㄹ게요 shows your will, determination, and promise.
It can be used only with the first person in a statement.
It can be used only with verbs and situations that benefit a listener.
The final consonant is important to decide the form 을게요 or ㄹ게요.
It's quiz time! I prepared the free and printable Korean practice worksheet for you! Please print the PDF and actually write the answers, not just eye-looking. Read aloud each one as well. Reading and writing are good practices you can do to improve Korean!
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